This encyclopedia is an open project. All interested persons are
invited to send notes, links, corrections, images, terms, descriptions,
uses, reports of experiences, etc. The LEP will be
separate from the main Kite-Energy Glossary.

Mission statement: LEP is to be a free Internet-based
encyclopedia about lines for the purpose of increasing the safety and
success of kiting activities in all scales and for all purposes
including special applications of working or tasking kite systems. .

Status of the project: September 2012 in an embryonic stage
reaching for the stars.... We have no pages to launch yet in the
project, except this introductory index page.

Funding for the project? Maybe AWEIA? Foundations?
Suppliers? Cordage industry? Right now: sweat equity by
EnergyKiteSystems.net Funding
identification? Some $200 per month for five years would be generative
until project effectiveness is widened cooperatively in caring
industries; split to 20 entities: $10 each per month. Do you want the
LEP to advance?
[Contacted: PJ, C, D, AWE group, ]

What is already accomplished by others for a similar purpose?
Links to kin resources. Folder started,
unlinked yet.

What is a "line" for the purposes of kite systems? A line is
very high aspect ratio material object used in tension in a kite system. A
line is to be distinguished from tensioned coverings of low-aspect ratio;
though a covering may embed lines.

Lines are with many uses in kite systems, the most prominent use
being a tether that couples wing and anchors; however, lines are used in
bridles, control systems, structural systems, covering constructions,
staying systems, kite-killing systems, energy-transfer systems, safety
systems, nets, parachutes, anchoring systems, kite applications, kite
tasks, etc.

Aspects of lines? Lines are either found in nature or
manufactured from materials provided by nature. Lines are used. During the
useful life of a line there will degradation of properties. Awareness of the current qualityof a line will permit operators to make better decisions that may
affect the life of humans and animals, as well as the integrity of a kite
system or properties in the operational environment. Aspects of
lines will affect ROI in AWES.

Manufacturing and construction of lines: ________

Decommissioning lines from a specific use and finding a
following secondary use for a line will be part of projects; secondary use
could be letting a line be feed stock for soil-making processes; a
decommissioned line's quality for a secondary use ought to be managed for
safety purposes. A line with gross appearance of integrity might be
thoroughly degraded by ultraviolet light, rot, or fatigue. Freshly
purchased product is not a guarantee of quality of line sample in hand, as
errors in manufacture and supply and handling may bring defects in lines
freshly purchased; the user is responsible for inspecting and verifying
the needed aspects and qualities of a line for an immediate purpose. When
would it be best to make a line not a line?

Risk management is ever part of line use. Perfect knowledge is
never available. Costs for fuzzy action and operation vary. Sharing
critical safety knowledge is part of a professional ethic that makes the
world better. Using the services of experts may be appropriate. Inspection
schedules and incident analysis are part of the core costs of responsible
use of lines.

Line terminations, couplings, joinings, splicing, knots:
Lines frequently join other parts. Line segments may join other lines. The
beginning and end of lines may receive various treatments. Specifying
these matters, describing the craft procedures involved, illustrating, tip
giving, failure-mode disclosure, inspection methods, testing,

Testing lines may be by destructive or non-destructive means.

Inspecting lines. Logs, inspection tools, experience
notes,

Tools involved with lines: _______

Understanding and engineering "tension" in line usage:
shock, load limits, age, hours of tension, creep, effects from reeling and
drumming,

Standardization and standards affecting line manufacturing and
line handling.

Safety:
For example in crane literature: "Each
and every lift must be planned carefully to avoid the risk of serious and
costly accidents." No less for kite systems!
Training of involved handlers and technicians is part of projects.
Errors
made in line making, handling, storing, operating, ...?

Stringister April 2014 neologism by Dave Santos. First use:
"Blocks
are an essential rigging element allowing rope to mechanically perform
all the same basic logic operations as electronics. We now see
transistor logic in the heddles of a Jaquard Loom (the direct
inspiration for Babbage's invention of the digital computer, but in
clockwork). The tri-tether and simple pulley tackle are close analogs.
Lets call the "new" phonon-based devices "Stringisters", as a public
domain generic term." Could he have meant "Stringistors"
?

A curious technical issue arose as our designated large kite area was
sporadically invaded by parents and kids flying toy kites; Gary was hyper-vigalant
against the threat that the cheap thin lines of the toy kites could slice
his larger professional kite lines, which is an interesting asymmetric
threat that recalls Thai Chula-Pacpao kite fighting. ds
May 8, 2013
AirborneWindEnergy/message/9149

On braided cord: sew by had a loop of secondary thread into
the main tether. Perhaps on that secondary loop have a toroidal bead
that will play as stopper and maybe keep-of-position of wings in a kte
train.

Line segments in train kite. Each wing has its own line segment. The
line sement will have a loop at one end and a ball knot at the other
end. The wing will be stopped by the ball knot. Have in the
wing a bead that is smooth and non-abrasive to the line; what wear will
there be? Perhaps bond a sleeve to protect the line from the
wobbling wing.

Dave
Lang is the father of AWE tether science, having pioneered AE
theoretic, simulated, and tested tethers during his long career, over
many years challenging AWE researchers to look deeper. His involvement
with actual Space Tethers and forward-looking Space Elevators even
inspired new conceptual hybrids of the kite principle in planetary
science. In the last decade, open AWE also scours academic literature
and commercial sources for tether knowledge, especially in key high-TRL
applications like fishing, rigging, and related practices.

New
AWES tether conceptual frontiers emerged, such as sonic relativity in
long-line control inputs (variable c in tension-modulated tether), and
3D tether lattices on a vast scale. A profusion of tether types and
methods were rediscovered or newly invented. Advanced tethers range
from pure super-polymer at highest power-to-weight and lowest-drag, to
composite structure with diverse added functions. Below is an
incomplete list of tether types and concepts in raw-note form, awaiting
others to someday bring due order to the engineering classification of
the complex AWES tether space.

-----------------------------

Load Bearing Tether- eg. the common kite tether

Primary Load Tether- a line bearing the preponderance of a tensile load from a wing set.

Plain Tether- a single tensile material

Composite Tether- any combination of materials and construction for multiple functions